Back to School-Germs

Of course, my kids are home sick after just a few days in preschool.

Kid germs are gross.

I am wiping snotty, runny noses faster than you can say Boogie Wipe – which by the way, are not a marketing gimmick. These are amazing saline soaked tissues that prevent the Rudolf effect and that itchy, dry chafing that appears after a day full of wiping. With two kids, who for better or worse get their colds at the same time, I buy these packages in bulk, and keep them in every bag and every drawer within reach in our household. The goal is to wipe them before their busy little hands do, and by extension, every surface in our house.

When they were younger, Bryce and Brody fought hard against any form of medication. We tried everything from flavoring the liquid with chocolate syrup, to suppositories- to my kids’ VERY extreme dismay. Eventually, we found that administering the liquid through a syringe while singing ‘Happy Birthday’ loudly in their face seemed to distract and amuse them enough to get the dosage in without a violent hurling back in our face. Now they call it ‘Birthday Feel Better’ medicine. I am always afraid of this connection at parties when the cake comes out. It just doesn’t seem right, and I am definitely reconsidering my song choice.

I never liked to reuse the syringes that come with the medication. I felt like there was no way to clean them appropriately, and I did not want that bacteria lying around our apartment. They were too young for a spoon dosage system so I found these individually wrapped, sterile oral syringes. I order them in bulk and throw each syringe out after each use. I do not have to worry about sterilizing/melting the cheap plastic or searching for the parts when one of my children needs a dose in the middle of the night. I know they are clean, and it is easy to draw up the liquid to the proper amount with the measurement lines on the side.

I am taking a steam shower tonight and having a hot toddy in sympathy of their colds, and also because I need something to knock me out after a few tiring days and many episodes of Peppa Pig.